


between the twilight and dawn

by ZephyrEden



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Howl's Moving Castle AU, M/M, Magic and Curses, Tags to be added as they happen, cid is kairi's dad and the twins step dad, gummi engineer!Sora, its a big mishmash of the hmc movie and book and just a bunch of stuff from the kh universe, not for spoiler reasons but just honestly because i can't remember half of them, roxas worries a lot about his brother, sora and roxas are twins and kairi is their step sister, the twins mom has passed by this point, wizard!Riku
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-03
Updated: 2018-07-23
Packaged: 2019-06-01 19:44:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15150476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZephyrEden/pseuds/ZephyrEden
Summary: "He's a rouge wizard, Sora. Haven't you heard the rumors? Riku eats the hearts of people, or steals them at least!""He didn't seem so bad," Sora mumbles, eyes trailing to the window where he can still see people dancing in the square. "Besides, he only takes the hearts of powerful people. I work in a garage all day, there's no way he'd be interested in me. My heart! I mean," he chuckles awkwardly.Roxas narrows his eyes, unimpressed.Or the Howl's Moving Castle AU no one asked for where there's a war between the worlds of Radiant Garden and Hollow Bastion, Riku is a wizard with commitment issues on the run from a witch, Sora is gummi engineer who gets himself cursed, and they're both too gay for their own good.





	1. by chance or by fate

It first appears on the rolling green hills surrounding the outskirts of Twilight Town. It creaks as it walks, each step accompanied by the groaning of blocks about to fall out of place and the churning that sounds before black smog is expelled from the smokestacks.

Olette is the first one to see it. Her carefree laughter catches painfully in her tensing throat, her eyes widening at the sight. She takes a step back and then another before bumping into someone.

“Hey,” Hayner huffs, rubbing at his shoulder.

“Olette?” Pence starts, worry obvious in his voice. “Are you okay?”

She lifts a shaky hand, pointing to the staggering mess of machinery coming up over a hill and towards town. “That’s-“

“Shit!” Hayner curses under his breath. He grabs Olette’s arm, ready to start dragging her back to town if she doesn’t start moving on her own again.

“That’s the Wizard Riku’s castle,” Pence says in some mix of fear and awe. “We’ve gotta warn the town!”

“Then let’s go!” Hayner yells and starts running, Olette stumbling to keep up while Pence only hesitates for a moment before he follows.

 

~

 

“It’s all set!”

Cloud looks over the package with mild trepidation that shows in the form of wary eyes and a raised eyebrow. “You’re sure this is completely disabled this time, right?”

Sora’s face scrunches up in offense and he pushes the package forcibly into Cloud’s hands. “ _Yes_. And that only happened _one time_. And this is a foundation rig, there aren’t even any weapons on it!”

Cloud chuckles and walks out of the garage, strapping the box onto the back of his bike. “Just checking. Leon already pay you?” He looks towards the small storefront that only exists to host displays and collect payment.

Sora grins, already past the previous insult to his handiwork. “Yep! Everything is all set!”

Cloud nods and gets on the bike, turning the handle to rev the engine only to be met by a pathetic whine instead. He frowns and tries again, receiving the same result.

Sora tilts his head, “Anything I can help with?”

Cloud shakes his head. “Need to get new gems for it.” It’s on the third attempt that the engine purrs to life and he sighs with relief. “Anyways, I need to go make this delivery. Gonna be a pain to get through town with all these Garden soldiers in the way.” He pauses, making sure to make eye contact with Sora. “Be careful when you go out there, okay? Bunch of drunk assholes, treating a victory in battle like they won the whole war.”

Sora frowns, but nods, waving to the courier as he leaves the shop. He doesn’t like taking the tunnels, but since only locals tend to use them he thinks it’ll end up being the safest way to get to the shop Roxas works at. He takes his filthy apron off, wiping the grease smeared on his face on it before throwing it on one of the tool benches. He’s about to run out of the garage when the side door opens and he freezes in place.

“Was that the Leonhart part that just left?” Cid asks, rolling a toothpick between his teeth while he shoulders his way past the door with a shipment of new blocks.

“Yeah,” Sora answers with a quick nod, slowly shuffling closer to the open doors.

“And you finished that Excalibur model engine?” he questions, setting the box down and looking at the engine in question that’s hanging in the middle of the room.

“Finished and tested,” the mechanic answers. He can feel the warmth of the sun on his back and knows just a quick sprint can have him halfway to town before his step-dad even starts yelling about leaving in the middle of a conversation again.

“Alright, alright, kid. I can see you’re itching to join the party in town,” Cid chuckles. “Just make sure to be back to lock up; I’ve gotta leave for that job in Traverse tonight.”

“Okay!” Sora agrees readily. It isn’t odd for Cid to have to travel outside their world for jobs, so he’s used to locking up by now. The only reason its even left open is for stragglers who need to pick up their vehicles or orders and can’t be bothered to get there before sundown.

“And find your sister for me, will ya? I wanna see her before she gets picked up for her apprenticeship.”

His stomach drops a little bit at the reminder. “Oh yeah,” he chuckles, the sound a little forced. “That’s today isn’t it?”

“Sure is,” Cid grunts, leaning back to crack his back. “And she can’t be late. Now get going! Go have some fun before the party dies down.”

Nodding again, Sora waves as he takes off down the empty side street they live on and hurries towards the tunnels. It’s difficult to even reach them, what with the loud cheering as soon as he gets to the main roads and the people clambering to get onto the already overcrowded trolleys. He forces his way through the crowd, though, squeezing past any gaps he can find and finally finding relief when he gets to the alley that leads to one of the tunnels.

He’s careful as he jogs down the slope, making good time across town until he hears voices echoing down from another passage. He slows his pace, listening in to hear if it’s anything interesting before he feels his blood run cold. He definitely knows one of those voices. He sprints towards it as fast as he can.

“I told you to leave me alone,” a girl says through gritted teeth, her hands clenched into tight fists.

“Aw, but you don’t really mean that, do you?” one of the soldiers blocking her way says, a sleezy smile pulling his lips back.

“No way could a pretty little flower like you be so mean,” the other coos and it makes her skin crawl. “Radiant Garden is the one keeping your little world’s borders free, you know. There’s no way you’d be so cruel to soldiers who just defended you from Hollow Bastion’s forces.”

She swears if she grinds her teeth together any harder they’ll chip. She wishes she’d had some of those magic lessons already.

“Leave her alone!” Sora yells, stepping protectively in front of her.

“Sora?” she says in surprise, unsure where he even appeared from.

The soldiers scoff, looking him up and down and clearly being left unimpressed by the scruffy boy in front of them. “And why should we listen to you?”

“Kairi,” Sora whispers under his breath and feels her hand grab the back of his shirt. “Dad’s waiting for you. Run.”

“What?” she breathes in a slight panic. She doesn’t want to leave him here.

“What are you whispering there, huh?” one of the soldiers asks, gripping the front of Sora’s shirt and pulling him up.

“KAIRI, RUN!” Sora shouts and he’s glad she doesn’t hesitate. Instead he hears her hurried footsteps echo through the tunnel as they pound against the ground towards the route he had taken to get here. He’s filled with relief at the thought.

“What are you so happy about?”

Oh yeah, he forgot about these guys.

He’s reminded fairly quickly, though, when a fist reels back to collide with his face. He flinches, bracing for an impact that never comes. He slowly opens one eye before they both fly open in shock, a lack of comprehension flooding him at the sight of a pale hand stopping the soldier’s fist with a lazy grip.

“Now this isn’t such a good look for honorable soldiers, is it?” the newcomer asks, flashing a smile towards them that is far more threatening than friendly.

The soldier’s grip loosens on Sora’s shirt enough for him to pull away, taking a step back when he’s back on the ground to stay out of his reach.

“But that’s okay,” the strange man continues, eyes narrowing as he pulls his hand away from the fist. “Because you were just leaving, _weren’t you?”_ He flicks his wrist, his finger moving in a circular motion as the two soldiers turn on their heels in surprise and yell as they awkwardly start shuffling away.

Sora’s mouth drops in awe, eyes moving from the men leaving to the man that made them leave. “How did you do that?” he whispers, amazed.

The man looks surprised for a moment when he turns to face him before he gives a more genuine smile. “I’d tell you, but I’m afraid we don’t have time for. Sorry for involving you, but I’m being followed.”

“Followed?” Sora looks down both sides of the tunnel but doesn’t see anything.

“Not by anything from this world,” the man clarifies.

Sora’s eyes widen and he looks at the man again, sees the pale blue hair reaching past his collarbone and the blue and yellow jacket hanging off his shoulders and the shining jewel of a pendant against his chest. It’s easy to see that he’s not from this world and that he hasn’t made an attempt to fit in at all.

He starts to open his mouth but is cut off by the stranger. “Sorry, but they’re coming. Where were you headed?”

Sora stammers for a minute as he’s led towards the closest tunnel exit, a hand at his back guiding him towards it. “The-There’s this bakery and café in the town plaza, but-“ He knows it’ll be impossible to get there from here, what with all the people crowding the streets.

“I hope you’re not scared of heights,” the man says suddenly as he moves slightly behind him, reaching forward to grasp Sora’s calloused hands in a delicate grip.

Sora can hear something now as they reach the outside streets and it’s not chatter from the people milling about. He looks over his shoulder and can see… _something_ bubbling up from the darkness, the shadows behind them taking the shape of something entirely inhuman.

“Just keep walking,” the man assures him, his voice suddenly too close to Sora’s ear. He feels heat rise to his face, but it’s forgotten the second he realizes his feet are leaving the ground and he’s walking on air.

The man chuckles brightly and the sound sends tingles down Sora’s spine. “It’s easier if you don’t look down,” he advises but Sora is hardly listening. His entire body is humming with exhilaration, a grin breaking out on his face as he watches their feet step on a rooftop and gently push off to propel them even higher into the air.

“This is amazing!” Sora laughs, his cheeks starting to hurt from smiling so hard. He isn’t even paying attention to the hands still grasping his own or the chest nearly pressed against his shoulder. He can see the clocktower easily from here, can see the crowd of people dancing in the middle of the square below. He feels them slowing down and descending and he almost complains until he sees where they’re moving towards. The third-floor balcony of the café is open to the air and empty of patrons and he feels the hand slide from his right one as he steps onto the railing before the hands free him completely as he hops down to the flooring. He turns around to see the man perched on the railing.

He leans down towards Sora, a knowing look in his eyes. “They may still try to follow you, so it’d be safer if you stayed inside for a little while.”

“Okay,” Sora nods, still half dazed and starstruck.

The man bows. “Then until next time.” He hops backwards off of the railing and falls to the plaza below, but when Sora lurches over to see where he landed he’s gone.


	2. curse of the first born

“Sora!”

Sora blinks a few times, turning away from the window he’s been staring out of since he came inside. He looks at his twin who shouted, his hands on his knees as he pants. “You okay, Roxas? You look like you just sprinted up three flights of stairs.”

Roxas glares at his brother as he catches his breath. “That’s because I did. Someone said they just saw you float down to the balcony. With Wizard Riku.”

Sora’s eyes widen, realization dawning on him. “So that’s who he was…”

Exasperation seizes Roxas in an instant. “You went with him without even knowing who he was?!”

“Yeah, well,” Sora stammers sheepishly, averting his eyes. It’s not like he has a good explanation for what happened.

“ _Sora_ ,” Roxas says seriously, grabbing hold of his twin’s shoulders so he knows he has his attention. “He’s a rouge wizard, Sora. Haven’t you heard the rumors? Riku eats the hearts of people, or steals them at least!”

Rumors of the Wizard Riku are nothing new in this world, or likely anywhere else. They’ve been circulating for several years now, so it would be more surprising if he hadn’t heard them yet. Sora was never one to buy into rumors, though. “He didn’t seem so bad,” he mumbles, eyes trailing to the window where he can still see people dancing in the square. “Besides, he only takes the hearts of powerful people. I work in a garage all day, there’s no way he’d be interested in me. My heart! I mean,” he chuckles awkwardly.

Roxas narrows his eyes, unimpressed. “You do not seriously have a crush on a heart-eating magical murderer.”

Sora narrows his eyes right back at that description, but he doesn’t look half as put out as his brother does. “He’s not like that,” he states firmly without really knowing why he’s so set on this. A pretty face says little about the matters of the heart and whatever darkness lurks inside it.

Roxas scoffs, taking a step back so he can really take a good look at his brother. “Are you daft? Did he put some kind of spell on you?”

“He didn’t put a spell on me,” Sora huffs, rolling his eyes.

“You don’t even him, Sora. You have no idea what he’s capable of. You’re lucky he decided to drop you off here; who knows what he would have done otherwise,” Roxas continues on, turning back to the stairs. “Come on, I’m still on shift. Aerith set up a table in the back for hooligans like you to sit at so you don’t disturb the customers.”

“I’m not a hooligan!” Sora yells after him and just like that the topic is dropped.

“Says the one who stole three croissants from my baking sheet just last week,” Aerith giggles good-naturedly as she runs into them on the second floor, descending towards the café as well. “Those are for paying customers, you know.”

“I gave your brother a discount, doesn’t that count for anything?” Sora pouts, folding his arms behind his head and slowing his pace so he doesn’t knock them all down the stairs.

Aerith laughs again and smiles at him in a way she knows no one alive is strong against. “It does. Leon was very grateful, you know. Which is why-“ she pauses as she opens the side door that leads back into the storage area connected to the kitchen, both shielded from the eyes of customers who only see the glass cases of pastries and whirring drink machines in the front, “I set up a thank you gift for you. Roxas, you too; please take a break and enjoy.”

“But I already-“ Roxas starts to protest, retying his apron strings that loosened in his rush up the stairs.

“I can handle the midday rush for a little bit,” Aerith says reassuringly, but Roxas knows that’s his boss and mentor’s way of saying he won’t win this argument.

Sora wastes no time sitting at the small table on a stool, drooling over the delicacies in the dim light the lantern in the center of the table provides. He picks up one of the marmalade filled Danishes and groans as the sweetness explodes on his taste buds. “You made these ones, right, Rox?” he asks with an open mouth.

Roxas cringes at the sight of half chewed food as he takes a seat across from him. “Yeah, Aerith finished showing me how to make them last week, so this week I’m in charge of making them. Any good?”

Sora nods furiously, shoving the entirety of it into his mouth. “You’re almost as good as Aerith!” he praises around the pastry.

Roxas rolls his eyes but can’t help the smile that comes to his face. He takes a quiche and begins to pick at it. “Definitely not. Aerith is amazing at baking; I’m not anywhere close to that.”

Sora picks up croissants in both hands. “My stomach disagrees.”

The blonde snorts. “Your stomach agrees with anything edible.”

“I’m serious!” Sora laughs. His brother’s baking skills have improved amazingly since he started working here just a short time ago. “I didn’t think you’d like working here, apprenticing a baker and all, but you really seem to like it!”

Roxas nibbles on the quiche in his hand. He can taste every ingredient, every pinch of salt used, and the tiniest smidge of spices. He couldn’t do that a couple months ago. “I didn’t like it. At first, at least. I was mad at Dad for making me come here. But Aerith is a really good teacher. She made me see how much more there is to all of this. And it’s not just baking – it’s customer service and book keeping and inventory and a bunch of other stuff it takes to run the business. I think… I think she might be preparing me to take over when she’s done.”

“Rox, that’s great!” Sora exclaims, stool tipping back and forth as he rocks in excitement.

“Yeah,” Roxas grins, a bit excited himself even though he knows none of that will happen for a long while. “It is.” His face falls a little as he looks at his brother, though. The grease stains on his pants, the scorched hem of his shirt from fizzling gems, the cuts and bruises and scars from dealing with the heavy machinery of gummi blocks and the temperamental nature of magic. “Kairi is leaving tonight, too, huh?”

Sora nods, staring at the roof as he chews. “She’s probably saying goodbye to Dad right now. She’ll be fine, though. She’s excited to be learning magic. She’s wanted to for so long.”

“And what about you?”

Sora looks down at the blonde, his brow furrowing at the frown on his face. “What about me?”

Roxas sighs. They’ve had this conversation a few times over the years, but it always ends the same. “Are you okay with what you’re doing? Gummi engineering?”

Sora shrugs, not letting anything show on his face. “Dad needs a successor. Plus, I’m good at it.”

“But do you _want_ to do that?” Roxas presses. He knows he doesn’t.

He shrugs again, polishing off his second croissant. “I don’t mind; the garage is home. Besides, I’m the first of three kids. What do you expect me to do?”

Roxas scowls. “Those old wives tales can screw themselves,” he says pointedly and he knows the barking laugh Sora responds with is his way of saying “It’s useless.” Everyone knows the first born of three is destined to have no luck, no success, and no future. That’s how it always is. Really, Sora getting to be an apprentice for a gummi engineer is almost unbelievably lucky for a first born. He’d be a fool to give it up.

But still…

Roxas puts his half-eaten quiche back on the tray and stands, retying his apron more out of habit than anything else. “I just want you to be happy, Sora. That’s all.”

Sora wants to say that he is happy, but the words won’t even form in his throat. He stares at the lantern as his brother heads back to the kitchen.

“Tell me before you leave, okay? I’m gonna have you bring some stuff home so we don’t starve while Dad is gone,” Roxas says over his shoulder as he disappears back into the loud hustle and bustle of the kitchen.

Sora picks up the half-eaten quiche as he’s left in the muffled silence of the storage room alone and takes a bite. It’s good. “Okay,” he says to no one but himself.

 

~

 

Sora pushes the front door open with an exhausted sigh, dropping the basket of food from Roxas (from Aerith, really) on the floor as his fingers fumble for the lock. Closing the garage isn’t exactly hard work, but sometimes the large doors get stuck and it’s a long drawn out pain in the ass to get them closed. Now his exhausted arms feel like overcooked noodles. He’s glad to be home, though, and he can’t wait to dig into the bundle of food next to him to replenish the energy he just wasted.

The kitchen, along with the rest of living quarters, reside up on the second floor, but he hoists the basket up onto the front counter instead as he trudges behind it. While he’d love to put it off until morning, he knows counting the register is part of closing up so he just wants to get it over with so he can eat and fall asleep. He almost doesn’t see the letter next to the register in his daze, but his name along with Roxas’ catches his attention. He unfolds the note and immediately grins at the small note his sister left for them, telling them goodbye and that she loves them and warning them not to get into too much trouble while she was missing out on it. He refolds it and puts it back on the counter for Roxas to see later and gets back to work with a new burst of energy and warmth in his heart.

He’s glad it doesn’t take long and he’s just closing the drawer when he hears the slight tingling of the bell that hangs over the front door. His eyes snap up, focusing on the pale woman robed entirely black walking into the storefront, flanked by two young looking redheaded boys. Sora cautiously walks out from behind the counter, approaching them. “Sorry, but we’re closed for the night. Come back tomorrow,” he says more slowly than he needs to, his voice guarded. His eyes wander back to the two boys by her side, something about them putting him ill at ease. Something about them seems… unnatural. His eyes go back to the door. “I could’ve sworn I locked that,” he mumbles under his breath.

“So,” the woman starts and her voice instantly sends chills down his spine. “This is the type he’s looking for these days.” Her pointed gaze roves over the shop, her condescension for it all practically palpable.

“What are you talking about?” Sora asks, standing his ground. He flinches when her gaze flickers to him.

“A lowly boy for a lowly shop. How… _fitting_ ,” she smirks. “Really, though…” her eyes narrow as she peers at him, almost like she’s trying to see through him. “He could do so much better.”

Sora scowls, his face hardening an anger. “I’m sorry, _ma’am_ , but I’m afraid we’re _closed_. You’ll have to leave now,” he spits out harshly, waving his hand and flinging the door open with a not-well-controlled pull of magic. He catches a look of distress flash across the boys’ faces for a split second before his heart sinks into the pit of his stomach.

“ _Oh_?” the woman drawls and Sora watches in mild horror as shadows grow along the floor from the foot of her cloak and horns protrude upward from the top of her head. “Quite bold of you to be taking that tone with the Witch of the Wastes. Or do you not know that I am the Mistress of All Evil? Pity that your ignorance shall have to be punished.”

Sora feels the blood drain from his face. “The Witch of the Wastes,” he’s barely able to mutter before her arm shoots forward.

The two boys at her side move around like limp ragdolls, their movements stunted and unnatural before they’re hurtling through the air straight towards him. The mechanic stumbles back a step before they crash against his chest, disappearing with the impact. He’s knocked back and collides with the counter, pain shooting up his back as he collapses on the ground.

He can’t breathe. It feels like his lungs are collapsing, his ribs are breaking, his heart is being squeezed – it feels like his body is being pulled in a thousand different directions all at once and it’s agony, pure and simple.

The Witch smiles, a perverse pleasure coming from seeing her handiwork be so effective. “The best part about that curse is that you can’t tell anyone about it. None of you can,” she gloats malicious as she makes her way to the door. “Give my regards to Riku, won’t you?”

The door slams shut and the walls rattle with the force of it. Sora squeezes his eyes shut as tightly as he can, letting the tears springing to his eyes fall and mix with the dirt on the floor.


	3. three is the unluckiest number

_“Is he dead?”_

_“Don’t say that!”_

_“What? I’m just asking.”_

_“If he dies, we probably die too, you know.”_

_“…”_

_“…”_

_“Ugh,_ fine _. Okay, let’s see if we can… Oh! Hell yeah, I can work with this. Not as comfortable as my own body, but…. Eh, close enough.”_

Sora’s eyes flutter open, the world slowly goes from blurriness to clarity. His body aches, but his arms move to push him upwards and his legs shake as he puts his weight back on them.

_“He’s been passed out for a while now, so be careful with him.”_

_“Hey, I’m the one that’s piloting here. No backseat driving.”_

Sora’s head is pounding and all he wants to do is cradle it in hopes that the ache will cease. He lifts his hand to his head.

He hand doesn’t move.

“Wha- What the-“

_“Oh, look who’s lucid again.”_

Sora jolts, looking around the room frantically. “Who’s there?!”

_“And in control. Nice going.”_

_“I don’t see you trying to move the body.”_

Sora freezes. The voices, they aren’t coming from someone else. They’re coming from inside his head. “What’s…” he starts before trailing off, his breathing picking up to a rapid pace.

_“Oh, he’s panicking.”_

“What the hell is going on?!” Sora yells, his lone voice echoing in the empty room.

 _“Hey, hey, take it easy now. Breathe, come on, deep inhale, slow exhale,”_ comes the calmer of the two voices.

 _“Or you could just pass out and let me take control of your body again,”_ the snarkier one suggests.

“Control my body?!” Sora yelps.

 _“You really don’t need to answer out loud,”_ the first says. _“Talk to us in your thoughts and we’ll hear you just fine.”_

Great, he’s going insane. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, following the given advice.

_“See? Much calmer now.”_

_“Congratulations on following basic instructions.”_

_“Who-_ “ Sora starts, unsure if he’s even doing this right. _“Who are you guys?”_

 _“My name’s Ven,”_ answers the more helpful of the two. _“The other is my brother, Van. You saw us – we were those boys with the Witch of the Wastes. Only…”_ he trails, no longer answering.

 _“We’re cursed, too,”_ Van continues with a sigh. _“Kinda like the one you’re stuck with now. Can’t talk about, can’t provide details_. _It’s even more of a pain in the ass than it sounds like.”_

He remembers the two boys, the two at the Witch’s side. There was something strange about them, something… inhuman. _“And now you’re both…”_

 _“Stuck inside you, it would seem,”_ Ven says, confirming Sora’s fears. _“Or part of us is, anyways.”_

_“What does that me-“_

_“Nope, sorry, no details,”_ Van cuts in. _“So if you wanna talk, you gotta break the curse.”_

 _“How do I-“_ The world lurches, everything spinning around him in a weightless sort of way as he feels himself lose control.

Van scoffs, _“You ask too many questions. Come on; less talking, more curse breaking! We don’t wanna be here anymore than you want us here.”_

It’s an odd feeling, Sora finds. It’s like he’s floating. He can feel his body moving, but it doesn’t feel like his own. Looking through his eyes is more like looking through a window than actually seeing it for himself. _“Stop… taking control of my body,”_ he tries to complain, but he’s feeling groggy all of the sudden. He doesn’t like handing over the wheel without consent, _especially_ when his own _body_ they’re using.

 _“You got any powerful wizards in this world, by any chance?”_ Van asks, seemingly already knowing the answer.

 _“No, there’s… there’s only a handful of natural magic users, at all,”_ Sora answers slowly. He can feel himself drifting. There’s a strange sensation that he pulls him out of it a little bit, almost as if he can physically feel emotion radiating next to him. Exhaustion and irritation.

 _“Great,”_ Ven sighs. _“We’re going to have to go to another world, then.”_

Sora wakes up a bit more. _“Another world? Wait, I can’t just leave here. I have things to do, I need to run the shop, Roxas will be-“_ He feels his thoughts screech to a halt. Roxas. Roxas will know the second anything is wrong and boy oh boy was something _definitely_ wrong. _“Fine,”_ he agrees suddenly and can feel a flicker of surprise from both sides. _“I just, I need to write a letter. Give me my body back.”_

Van grumbles, but relinquishes control, and it Sora feels like he was just launched by a malfunctioning power gem. He’s reeling, but he stumbles behind the counter for a pen and piece of paper, scribbling out a quick story made up of lies and excuses. He hates lying to his brother, but if the Witch is still after him… No, he can’t let his family get involved this. This is his problem.

He folds the paper in half and sets it next to Kairi’s letter. He takes another deep breath. _“Do you… Do either of you know where to go?”_

There’s a moment mixed with tension and unease that floods his chest before it settles into resolve, firm and true.

 _“I’ve got a pretty good idea,”_ Ven says, speaking up Sora’s surprise.

It really does just feel like letting go. Like he’s lying back and suddenly floating in an abyss of air. _“Then lead the way.”_

**Author's Note:**

> [twitter](http://twitter.com/deepseasalt_) | [tumblr](http://deepseasalt.tumblr.com) | [carrd](http://zephyreden.carrd.co)


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